Anatomic shape variants of extremitas sternalis claviculae as collected from sternoclavicular thin-slice CT-studies of 2820 male borderline-adults

Ernst, Rudolf; Kramer, Josef; Schmidt, Sven; Vieth, Volker; Winkler, Ingemar; Schmeling, Andreas

doi:10.1007/s00414-019-02065-6

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…In addition to the Demirijian’s criteria, another clavicle-based age assessment method has been presented. Yoon et al [ 13 ] evaluated the age of adolescents and young adults using the ossification grade of medial clavicular epiphysis on chest radiographs; meanwhile, Rudolf et al [ 14 ] studied the deformation of the anatomical shape of the sternum clavicle to obtain a more accurate age assessment. In addition to CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used frequently in many studies [ 15 – 17 ] owing to its lower radiation dose.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age estimation based on 3D post-mortem computed tomography images of mandible and femur using convolutional neural networks

et al. 2021

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Age assessment has attracted increasing attention in the field of forensics. However, most existing works are laborious and requires domain-specific knowledge. Modern computing power makes it is possible to leverage massive amounts of data to produce more reliable results. Therefore, it is logical to use automated age estimation approaches to handle large datasets. In this study, a fully automated age prediction approach was proposed by assessing 3D mandible and femur scans using deep learning. A total of 814 post-mortem computed tomography scans from 619 men and 195 women, within the age range of 20–70, were collected from the National Forensic Service in South Korea. Multiple preprocessing steps were applied for each scan to normalize the image and perform intensity correction to create 3D voxels that represent these parts accurately. The accuracy of the proposed method was evaluated by 10-fold cross-validation. The initial cross-validation results illustrated the potential of the proposed method as it achieved a mean absolute error of 5.15 years with a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.80. The proposed approach is likely to be faster and potentially more reliable, which could be used for age assessment in the future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age estimation based on 3D post-mortem computed tomography images of mandible and femur using convolutional neural networks

et al. 2021

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“…It is, however, important to keep in mind that of these nine studies, two [ 11 , 28 ] are more than 15 years old, which is a long time in CT technology. Of the remaining seven studies, four were authored by Rudolf et al [ 40 , 53 , 56 , 57 ], two by Tozakidou et al [ 15 , 16 ], and one by Lossois et al [ 60 ]. This means that the available, up-to-date data on CT scan parameters of the MCE for FAE is based on the work of 3 authors only, of which only 1 author had a focus on dose optimisation [ 15 , 16 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standards of practice in forensic age estimation with CT of the medial clavicular epiphysis—a systematic review

Ruder,

Kuhnen,

Zech

et al. 2023

Int J Legal Med

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The AGFAD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Forensische Alterdiagnostik, Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics) has published several recommendations regarding both technical aspects of computed tomography (CT) of the medial clavicular epiphysis (MCE) and the process of reading and interpreting the CT images for forensic age estimations (FAE). There are, however, no published recommendations regarding CT scan protocols and no dose reference values for CT of the MCE. The objective of this analysis was to assess adherence to AGFAD recommendations among practitioners of FAE and analyse reported dose-relevant CT scan parameters with the objective of helping to establish evidence-based dose reference values for FAE. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed and in Google Scholar with specific MeSH terms to identify original research articles on FAE with CT of the MCE from 1997 to 2022. A total of 48 studies were included. Adherence to AGFAD recommendations among practitioners of FAE is high regarding the use of Schmeling main stages (93%), bone window (79%), ≤ 1 mm CT slices (67%), axial/coronal CT images (65%), and Kellinghaus sub-stages (59%). The reporting of CT technique and CT dose-relevant scan parameters is heterogeneous and often incomplete in the current literature. Considering the success achieved by the AGFAD in creating standards of practice of FAE in living subjects, there is potential for the AGFAD to establish standards for radiation protection in FAE as well.

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“…This is especially important when imaging body parts that change their position according to the patient's body constitution or position in the scanner. Changes of reformation techniques have been reported to influence image quality [13] and viewing images in axial and coronal reformations are considered gold standard for the evaluation of the medial clavicular epiphysis in forensic age estimation [20][21][22]. While many important studies in the field forensic clavicular imaging have examined patients with hands positioned at the body [12], studies with retrospective analysis of the clavicle, especially those that use thoracic CT examinations, evaluated multiplanar reformations in patients with hands positioned upwards [23].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

CT of the medial clavicular epiphysis for forensic age estimation: hands up?

et al. 2021

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Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the impact of arm position in computed tomography (CT) of the clavicle performed for forensic age estimation on clavicular position, image noise, and radiation dose. Methods and materials Forty-seven CT scans of the medial clavicular epiphysis performed for forensic age estimation were conducted with either hands and arms held upwards (CTHU, 28 persons) or positioned at the body (CTHD, 19 persons). Presets were identical for both positions (70 mAs/140 kVp; Brilliance iCT, Philips). Each CT scan was reconstructed with an iterative algorithm (i-Dose 4) and evaluated at the middle of the sternoclavicular joint. Clavicular angle was measured on a.p. topograms in relation to a horizontal line. Quantitative image noise was measured in air at the level of medial clavicular epiphysis. Effective dose and scan length were recorded. Results Hands-up position compared with hands-down position resulted in a lower lateral body diameter (CTHU 41.1 ± 3.6 cm vs. CTHD 44.6 ± 3.1 cm; P = 0.03), a reduced quantitative image noise (CTHU: 39.5 ± 9.2; CTHD: 46.2 ± 8.3; P = 0.02), and lower CTDIvol (5.1 ± 1.4 mGy vs. 6.7 ± 1.8 mGy; P = 0.001). Scan length was longer in patients examined with hands up (HU: 8.5 ± 3.4 cm; HD: 6.2 ± 2.1 cm; P = 0.006). Mean effective dose for CTHU was 0.79 ± 0.32 mSv compared with 0.95 ± 0.38 mSv in CTHD (P = 0.12). Clavicular angle was 17° ± 6° in patients with hands down and 32° ± 7° in patients with hands up (P < 0.001). Conclusion By elevated arm positioning, the image quality of clavicular CT scans can be improved while maintaining radiation dose compared with hands down. Clavicular position differs according to the hand position. Thus, positioning patients with elevated hands is advisable for forensic clavicular CT examinations, but multiplanar CT reconstructions should be adjusted to clavicular position and scan length should be reduced to a minimum.

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Anatomic shape variants of extremitas sternalis claviculae as collected from sternoclavicular thin-slice CT-studies of 2820 male borderline-adults

Cited by 17 publications

References 70 publications

Age estimation based on 3D post-mortem computed tomography images of mandible and femur using convolutional neural networks

Age estimation based on 3D post-mortem computed tomography images of mandible and femur using convolutional neural networks

Standards of practice in forensic age estimation with CT of the medial clavicular epiphysis—a systematic review

CT of the medial clavicular epiphysis for forensic age estimation: hands up?

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